Water treating apparatus



N. E. BRICE WATER TREATING APPARATUS Nov. 28, 1933.

`Filed Dec.

Patented Nov. 28, 1933 WATER TREATING APPARATUS Norman E. Brice, Millburn', N. J., assigner to The Permutit Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application December 30, 1930. Serial No. 505,605

3 Claims.

This invention relates to water treating apparatus; and it comprises a base exchange water softening apparatus having a zeolite container made of metal forming a tank-like continuous casing for holding a charge of zeolites with a header top for said casing carrying the necessary connections for liquid inux and eiliux, said header top comprising a metal forging, stamping or the like, having a welded, brazed, soldered or riveted connection with the casing and openings connected with the inside of the container at `different points, said header being adapted to connect the container with a multiway valve controlling the operations of the apparatus, said valve and header advantageously having a sampling aperture and softening tester; all as more fully hereinafter set forth and as claimed.

In another and copending application of one Pick, Serial No. 484,164, Whereon the present invention in some of its aspects is an improvement, is described and claimed a new and advantageous Water softening apparatus comprising an automatically rotatable multiway valve controlling softening, Washing, regenerating and rinsing operations, the zeolite container top being formed by a flange and a bolted one-piece counterilange casting with openings therein to which the valve is connected.

I have found that a lighter, simpler, more convenient, and permanently leak-proof construction is afforded by welding, brazing, soldering or riveting to the container a forged, cast or stamped header having openings formed therein to permit connections being made between the multiway valve and both top and bottom of the container, said header being also adapted, if desired, to permit sampling for testing purposes of the liquids at top and bottom, the header material being steel or wrought iron, or other suitable metal. The

40 header may be made in two pieces, one of which is welded or otherwise continuously and permanently connected to the upper edge of the side casing. The whole header forms a container top and valve connection which is easily made and easily installed. Assemblage of the water softening unit is simplified and its preparation for shipment facilitated. The new unit has an improved appearance and is economical in construction.

In the accompanying drawing I have shown, more or less diagrammatically, structures within the scope of my invention. In this showing,

Fig. 1 shows in vertical section a zeolite container with a top header to which the multiway valve is attached directly;

(Cl. 21o-24) Fig'. 2 is a detail in elevation of a bottom distributor.

Referring now to the drawing and particularly to Fig. 1, the numeral 1 designates a zeolite container having a top piece 2, joined to the container by a suitable joint 3 which may conveniently be a welding. To the piece 2 a header piece 4, advantageously a forging, is continuously joined, advantageously by a welded joint 5. Joints 3 and 5 may be brazed, soldered or riveted, if desired. This header piece is of substantial thickness and has an opening 6 formed therein which is of a size large enough to permit charging therethrough of the Zeolite into the container. Another opening 7 of smaller size is formed in the header 4, this opening being adapted to receive a pipe 8 running to the bottom of the container. The pipe 8 is advantageously attached to the header by an expanded or rolled in joint engaging with a groove 9 in the header. The header is adapted to direct attachment thereto of a multiway valve 10, the joint being made by means of gasket 11 held by means of a number of screws, as at 12. The valve is advantageously of the type of the valve described in the Pick application, Serial No. 484,164, and may have, in addition to casing ports in direct connection, as shown, with the header openings 6 and 7, other casing ports with conneciions to a hard water line, a soft water line, a source of brine supply, and a waste line. The valve has a rotary member or plug 13 adapted by means of passages and channels therein to connect different combinations of valve ports in succession and thus to make connections for a cycle of softening and reconditioning operations in container 1 as the valve plug 13 is turned through successive equal angles of one complete circle. The valve plug 13 has an aperture 15 running vertically through the plug and through the stem 14 and into this aperture a sampling cock 15a is screwed. As described in the said Pick application, the valve plug is provided with an injector mechanism 16 by which regenerating brine is injected into the top of the zeolite container through opening 6, the spent brine` runv ning to waste from the botom through pipe 8 in opening 7. Fitting 17 in the bottom of the valve casing serves to distribute incoming water as well as the brine flowing into the container ihrough the injector 16. The cock 15a permits sampling at opportune times of the various liquids going into and out of the container and on the wheel of the valve is formed a box 18 in which I place bottles 19, one of which may hold a testing reagent, such as soap solution, the

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other being a shaker botle. The sampling and testing arrangement is useful for the purpose of determining when regenerations of the zeolite in the container is required and when rinsing out of brine is complete. At the bottom of the container is placed a distributor 20 shown as attached to the bottom of the container by bolt 21. The distributor has a foraminous bottom 22 for ingress and egress of liquid. The lower end of pipe 8 lits into the distributor 20. In Fig. 2 is shown a modified distributor 29 which may be used in place of distributor 20. Distributor 29 has slots 30 alfording liquid passage.

In assembling the apparatus with the double opening header illustrated in Fig. 1, after the header piece 4 has been welded to the container 1 and the distributor 20 has been fastened to the bottom, pipe 8 is dropped into the container -through opening 6 and its upper end is held so that the lower end may drop alongside the distributor 20. Then the upper end of pipe 8 is placed in opening 7 and pulled upwardly until its lower end clears the top of the distributor 20. It is held so that the lower end comes directly above the opening in the dislributor 20, and the pipe is then dropped so that the lower end lits into the distributor; thereupon the upper end of pipe 8 is expanded in opening '7 in a well known way. With pipe 8 in place, the bottom gravel layer and the zeolite bed are arranged in the container which is finally closed by attaching the valve 10 to header 4. Opening 6 being large enough to permit entry of distributor 20 and manual manipulation of pipe 8 in the container, the assembly is made very conveniently and quickly. Dismantling for renewal of zeolite or for mechanical adjustment is equally convenient.

While I have described my invention in its particular relation to base exchange Water softening, it is apparent that the disclosed apparatus organization is generally useful in treating water for purification and other purposes.

What I claim is:-

1. In zeolite water softening apparatus, a container for the zeolite having a top formed by a header comprising a forging having a continuous Welded connection with the body of the container, said header forging having formed therein two separate and independent openings of relatively large and small size providing inlet and outlet for the container, the smaller of said openings being connected with the inside of the container near the bottom through an internal pipe and a distributor attached to the bottom,

the larger of said openings communicating directly with the inside of said container at the top and being of suiiicient size to permit passage therethrough into the container of said internal pipe and its assembly with said smaller opening -and said distributor, and a multiport control /valve removably attached to the header forging and having two ports registering respectively with the header openings. y

2. In zeolite water softening apparatus, a metallic container for the zeolite having a top formed by a header comprising a piece having a continuous metallic connection with the body of the container, said header piece having openings therein respectively communicating directly with the space Within the container above the zeolite and through an internal pipe with the inside of the container near the bottom, said openings connect-ing with a multiway valve attached to the header piece and controlling the operations of the apparatus, said valve having a rotary member formed with a box thereon for holding testing reagent bottles and a sampling aperture running from said box through the valve stem and into said directly communicating header opening, said sampling aperture having a valved connection adapted to deliver samples of liquid from the container into a testing bottle.

3. In water treating apparatus, a metallic container for water treating material having a top formed by a header piece having a permanent continuous metallic connection with the body of the container and by a member of greater Wall thickness than the header piece andhaving a permanent continuous connectionl with the header piece, said thicker member having formed therein two separate and independent openings of relatively large and small size providing inlet and outlet for .the container, the smaller of said openings being connected with the inside of the container near the bottom through an internal pipe and a distributor connected to the pipe and located near the bottom, the larger of said openings communicating directly with the inside of said container at the top and being of sufficient size to permit passage therethrough into the container of said internal pipe and distributor and assembly of the internal pipe with said smaller opening, and a multiport control valve removably attached to said thicker member and having two ports registering respectively with the member openings. 

